The United Nations has appointed a special envoy to evaluate whether lack of access to affordable housing in New York is so bad it violates basic human rights.
Raquel Rolnik, a professor of urban planning at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, is the official 'rapporteur.'
"Housing advocates will be taking Ms. Rolnik to the Atlantic Yards site in Brooklyn to see the results of the government's use of eminent domain to seize property; to the New York City Housing Authority's Grant Houses in Harlem to see how public housing residents live; and to the Bronx to meet residents whose landlords are in foreclosure."
Read the full story: Affordable? U.N. Puts a Questioning Eye on New York’s Housing
A Rare Governance Moment for UN-Habitat
The 2nd UN-Habitat Assembly adopted resolutions highlighting key needs for achievement of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda in cities while important partnerships were announced.
San Diego Ponders How to Declare ‘Housing as a Human Right’
Landlords in the city believe housing rights shouldn’t supersede property rights.
European Union Takes Initial Step to Ban Russian Energy Imports
After a second day of talks in Brussels, ambassadors to the European Union agreed to ban coal imports from Russia as evidence of widescale atrocities committed by Russian troops in Ukraine surfaced after their withdrawal from the outskirts of Kyiv.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Chicago voters approve permanent festival grounds, penalty for vacant property owners
Currently, major summer and fall festivals take over public parks for weeks at a time, drawing criticism from nearby residents
NYC votes to cut outdoor dining red tape, speed up permitting
New York City also voted to allow the Department of Transportation to begin work on urgent projects before notifying elected officials.
California appears to reject Prop. 45
The proposition would have expanded the projects that qualify for a streamlined environmental review, effectively paring down the California Environmental Quality Act.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority